March chitchat

[Lazarus]

Oh Ann…you are incredible. So much to handle and such great success while ‘ standing for what should be ‘ and not failing your mom on any level…wonderful!

[stillstANNding]

Thank you Linda, Ikoiko and Agate.

Ikoiko, did you mean Swing Away hinges?

[Virginia]

Ann, so much for you and your Mom to go through. My heart goes out to her. I can visualize her independence and she sees it slipping away from her. My heart also goes out to you, it is such a heavy load you carry. Rest while you can.

Ikoiko, thanks for mentioning my brother.

I have not heard from Eric again. I do know from other brother that they are still not in another house, but were hoping to get in by possibly tomorrow afternoon. Someone from restoration is to come in the morning and get some electronics to try and restore. I assume this is TVs and things like that. SIL is still packing boxes to go into storage bin. My brother had to move out of his daughter's with one of their dogs because that dog and one of her dogs started not getting along. I would love to hear from him, but I know his mind is going in so many directions at this time. I considered calling but only two things would keep him from calling me - either he is just so busy or he has gotten depressed over what happened. Right now I feel I need to wait it out.

Ann, I do hope you enjoy this time with Peter and the cats.

[stillstANNding]

Hi Virginia. I hope you hear from or about Eric soon. Thank you for your kind thoughts.

My SIL says things are slowly getting better and that Mom’s insurance company is sending ten low sodium frozen meals every ten days for awhile. She will probably say that they taste like cardboard and tell SIL to throw them out. Mom’s cardiologist has told her she can eat whatever she likes - that she should enjoy her food.

But an insurance company sending frozen meals! How amazing. She has one of those policies where the Medicare and insurance are together. Hers is Highmark, a BC/BS product in PA. When she signed up for it she picked the most expensive because she thought she and Daddy would probably require more care toward the end of life. Good for her.

ANN -making vegetable soup today and listening to NPR

[Ikoiko]

Ann, yes, the hinges are called swing away, swing clear, or off set hinges.

Also, NPR is in fund raising mode, so I have to keep turning it off. I know they have to do it, though.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

ANN ~

What an ordeal for your mom, SIL, and you! I am so sorry for all of you.

It sounds like someone dropped the ball on your mom's discharge. We always had all equipment and supplies delivered the day of homecoming, and the RN was either scheduled for that day or the next day. You shouldn't have been left to fend for yourselves for so long.

Awesome advocacy for your mom! How infuriating that the alternative to home care was shipping your mom off to a nursing home. The point is that she is better off in her own home, which is made possible, when all of the supports for her care are in place. The proof is in the pudding, since you were able to come home. I'm sure it feels good to be home, back with Peter and your cats. You've been through so much, and I pray that you will have time now to rest and relax.

Healing prayers on the way for your mom. She is a trooper! And so are you!

Virginia ~

There must be a thousand things happening simultaneously for Eric and his family. I'm sure that he doesn't want to leave you in the dark. Maybe you could text him to let him know that you're thinking of him and are available any time he needs to talk. It might help him to spill some of his anguish.

I hope computers and other devices with important information were retrieved to see if their data can be recovered. I don't think a TV is worth trying to rescue, since TVs don't store much information.

This is going to be a long, stressful journey for Eric and his family. I will pray that they can take time to get away from it, to rest, and release the stress.

Meanwhile, please take good care of yourself.

Howie ~

Here are some potential topics for you to discuss:

1. How is your ear?

2. Have your seizures abated?

3. Are you ordering food to be delivered?

4. Have you been to the store recently?

5. What are some of Sam's secrets?

I'm happy to see you posting again.


Prayers for everyone to be safe, well, strong, and find joy and blessings everyday ~

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose

[Virginia]

Rose, I do know that he doesn't store things in the cloud. It takes too long to retrieve things. He is always trying to find a better way. I will call if I don't here something soon. I don't text because he gets a gazillion text each day due to his golf tournament. And that is during good times.

[Howie]

This post is below.

[Howie]

1. What's that you asked, how's my ear? Speak up!!! That was an ordeal, but it finally settled down, and it's back to normal. I was about to stop watching TV, I couldn't hear it without turning it up so loud I had to be disturbing the neighbors.

2. The seizures stopped with an increase in the Gabapentin dose. Good riddance.

3. I haven't ordered out in a long time. Money is so tight for me right now, but I'm working to get a little breathing room.

4. Actually, I went to the store yesterday. I came home with enough food to get me through until payday, and then it starts all over again.

5. I would tell you some of Sam's secrets, but she won't let me. Being as she is with me 24/7, she would catch me for sure.

Well, time for my second mug of coffee. Everyone have a great day!

[Virginia]

Howie, so nice to see you posting. I am happy to hear your ear got alright.

I think money is getting a little tight for most regular people. If I had not already saved the money to update my kitchen a little, I couldn't do it. I think a lot of it is groceries. I don't drive enough for it to be gas for me.

Hope you and Sam continue to do well. Keep us updated when you can. All of us miss you when we don't hear from you.

[Howie]

The only time I want folks to miss me is when they are shooting at me.

[agate]

I think Sam must miss you a lot. She just isn't real good with that slingshot she has. She needs practice. But a cat can't be adept at everything right away.

[Howie]

One thing she is VERY adept at is getting me to fulfill her every desire.

[Virginia]

I heard from Eric today. He sounds pretty good. Says his hands are pretty much healed with the exception of one spot which he says is a place that may have a little infection in it.

They got in the rental house really late Monday night, about midnight. He says it is not too bad, but farther out than he had thought. It is 25 minute drive to old house, so of course about an hour from me if traffic is not too bad. It was painted and all new furniture was put in. Their house now sounds a little better. The people who will be working on it say 6 to 9 months. They are now waiting on a work permit to start on the new construction part. They had bought some really nice, upscale leather furniture after they moved there. They were told it would have to be replaced. It seems leather holds smoke fumes more than fabric. He and I both would have thought otherwise. The different people are moving things out depending on if it is to be restored and if so where, or if not at all damaged then it is going to be stored somewhere in Greenville, NC.

He has been able to get back much of his information on his new computer. Obviously, receipts for things they had bought were burned, but he retrieved actual receipts somehow. I didn't understand if he was able to get part of his backup or just how he did it. He said he would sit and think of different things and then go pull them up. He said he had about two hundred and fifty pieces of paper. Of course each sheet represents one reciept. I think he got most of his business back, or either he led me to believe he did to keep me from worrying.

While staying at his older son's house he really liked the kitchen sink and faucet. So he stopped at Lowe's today and got a faucet for me for when my new kitchen counters are put in. I was going out tomorrow to look for one, but the weather is rainy and bad here and I haven't felt too well for a couple of days so I was dreading it. Now I don't have to go.

Tomorrow is Eric's birthday. I sent him a card and I think the family may get together later. I am glad they are a little more straightened out.

I hope all of you on here are doing well. I have watched some of the confirmation proceedings yesterday and today.

[agate]

So glad you heard from Eric--and 6 months sounds a bit better than the 9 months, doesn't it? I had no idea leather retained smoke fumes either. He may have found invoices online at the Websites from any places he purchased from. Each company seems to keep those records available online for at least a couple of years. It might be easier than rummaging around for the paper receipts.

In fact, Amazon doesn't usually send a paper receipt any more. They seem to assume that you can go to their Website and print out the invoice if you need it. Maybe other people have more dependable printers than I do but I'd prefer a paper receipt as well. That isn't going to be happening in this world that wants to be paperless, I guess.

I hope you'll wish Eric a happy birthday from your friends here because we're grateful to him for being there for you!